Federal political structures in Germany and in the European Union (EU) present enormous challenges to the legislator, who needs to bear the German Lander or the EU member states in mind when designing election law. Similar difficulties exist in some German Lander like Bavaria or the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which are composed of distinct entitites comparable to member states. Election law can react to this situation either by strengthening the member states via procedural rules or by taking account of smaller entities in the distribution of parliamentary seats. However, the latter solution conflicts with the principle of equal suffrage ("one man, one vote") when small entities are overrepresented. This book examines the relevant issues at law as well as historical aspects and recent developments. The author has worked as a research associate at the Faculty of Law of Augsburg University and is now a civil servant at the Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Science and the Arts.